Continuous metal heating



May 27, 1969 E. F. KURZINSKI CONTINUOUS METAL HEATING Sheet of 2 Filed Sept. 11, 1967 FIG.

INVENTOR. EDWARD KURZINSKI Y B S ATTORNEY.

y 27, 1959 E. F. KURZINSKI 3,446,490

CONTINUOUS METAL HEATING Filed Sept. 11, 1967 Sheet 3 of 2 F I G. 3

a ll!!! 23 24 W l M I8 I I INVENTOR. EDWARD F. KURZINSKI ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,446,490 CONTINUOUS METAL HEATING Edward F. Kurzinski, Upper St. Clair, Bridgeville, Pa.,

assignor to Selas Corporation of America, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 666,825 Int. Cl. F27b 9/28 US. Cl. 263-3 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A movable furnace unit is provided to be moved from a position in which it surrounds a strand of metal coming from a continuous casting machine to a position to one side of said strand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the heating of metal, and, more particularly, to the evening of temperature across the surface of a continuously cast strand of metal as it moves from the mold to a rolling mill or other apparatus.

In a continuous casting process, a strand of cast metal is moved downwardly from the mold. Guide rolls or similar apparatus are provided to direct the traveling strand from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction where the advancing strand is cut to length as billets, or supplied directly to a rolling mill. During its travel from the mold to a point of use, the strand cools unevenly with the center being considerably hotter than the surface and the corners being cooler than the center of a surface. If the strand is being supplied to a roll stand it is desirable to have its temperature as nearly uniform as possible across its area, and, depending upon the distance it travels, it may require some reheating.

It is an object of the invention to provide a furnace structure operative to heat a strand of metal as it is being moved from a continuous casting mold.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus operative to even out thetemperature of a continuously moving strand of metal as it is being moved from a casting mold to apparatus for performing work thereon.

In carrying out the invention there are provided a pair of furnaces located in a position to surround the strand along its path of movement. The furnace structures are so mounted that theyrcan be moved to one side of said path during the time the casting starter or drawing bar is being positioned. In addition, the floor of the furnace structure can be used as a guide and support for the starter bar.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, its advantages and specific objects attained with its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevation of the furnace apparatus and its supports.

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawing there is shown at 1 a box indicating the mold of a continuous casting machine. The

3,446,490 Patented May 27, 1969 metal which is cast by the machine issues as a strand 2 in a substantially vertical direction and travels, as shown in this case, through a curved path until it is traveling in a substantially horizontal direction to some apparatus which operates on the strand and which may be a cutter or a rolling mill. The size and cross-sectional shape of the strand as well as the metal being cast will vary with different installations. In any event, it is frequently desirable to reheat the metal or to even out its temperature on its surface and throughout its section as it is moving toward the point of use. To this end the present mechanism is provided and it includes a pair of roll stands 3 and 4 which guide the metal strand 2 as it is moving through the path. These roll stands each include a pair of guide rolls that are mounted in a frame, with each frame being rigidly fastened to a support. The support in this case is shown as being formed of a pair of beams 5 which are joined together and which are pivoted around a pivot 6 fastened to a main support 10. The frame consisting of beams 5 can be moved to various angles to the horizontal, depending upon the path traveled by the strand. To this end the left end of the beams 5 are shown as being attached to a jack screw 7 which can be elevated to give the proper inclination to the beams 5. It will be obvious that any type of elevating mechanism could be used instead of the jack screw.

A pair of furnace units 8 and 9 are mounted on the support formed by beams 5 and are used to reheat or to even out the heat of the strand as it is moving past them. The furnace units are identical so that a description of one Will suffice. Each furnace unit includes a substantially cylindrical furnace shell 11 which is open at both ends and which is provided with an axially extending slot 12. These furnace units are constructed in accordance with ordinary furnace practice and include a metal casing which is s itably lined with refractory. Each of the furnace units is also provided with a plurality of burners 13 which supply the heat for the metal. As shown in FIG. 2 the strand is rectangular in cross-section and the burners are so mounted that the heat is concentrated on the corners of the strand, which corners will cool more rapidly than the remainder of the strand. The burners can be of any desired type but preferably are of the type shown in US. Patent No. 2,855,033. Each of the furnace units is also provided with a vent 14 through which products of combustion can be exhausted, as well as being exhausted through the open ends.

The furnace units are mounted on their support for movement from a position in which they surround the strand to a position at one side thereof which is shown herein as being above the strand. To this end each unit is mounted on a piston 15 that is received in a cylinder 16 rigidly fastened at the proper angle on the main support. Hydraulic fluid is supplied to the upper end of the piston through a pipe 17 and to the lower end of the piston through a pipe 18 from a valve 19, which, in turn, is supplied with fluid under pressure from a pipe 21. Shifting the valve in a conventional manner will direct fluid to one end or the other of piston 16 in order to move the furnace units between their two positions. The furnace is mounted", as shown in the drawing, at an angle to the horizontal and is guided to keep it aligned axially with the strand by means of a roller 22 mounted on a bracket 23 attached to the casing of the unit. This roller engages a track formed by one flange of a guide 24 extending upwardly from a beam 5.

Slot 12 in the bottom of the furnace is closed by a hearth comprising a refractory block 25 that is mounted in a steel frame 26. This frame, in turn, is mounted on a piston 27 received in a cylinder 28 that is attached to a plate 29 extending between the beams 5. The elevation of the block can be changed by operating fluid introduced into one end of the cylinder 28 by a line 31 and into the other end by a line 32. Block 25 can be moved by the piston 27 from the position shown in FIG. 2 in which the furnace wall is completed as a cylinder to a position in which the block is tangent to the path of strand 2.

While hydraulic means have been shown to raise and lower the furnace units as well as the blocks 25, it will be obvious that other suitable elevating mechanisms such as a screw jack could be used if desired or convenient. In any event, the furnace can be moved automatically in response to passage of a strand through the furnace if it is so desired. To this end there is disclosed a detecting element 33 that can be responsive to the temperature of a heated strand passing beneath it and toward the furnace units. This detecting mechanism can operate in a conventional manner through connections illustrated diagrammatically at 34 to actuate valves 19. Normally, when a strand is passing through the furnace units the valves will be in such a position that the furnace units surround the strand. When a strand is no longer passing through the units they will be moved away from the path of the strand. Normally some conventional temperature control means will be used to control the temperature of the furnace in order to raise or to maintain the temperature of the strand to some desired value as it is moving through the path.

In operation of the system, assuming that no strand is being cast, the furnace elements 8 and 9 would be elevated to a point above the path the strand would normally follow. A drawing rod would then be inserted through the roll stands 3 and 4 and moved upwardly until the end of the rod was against the mold. Thereafter when casting started the drawing rod will be moved in the direction of the arrows to guide the end of the strand through its path to the point of use. The furnaces at this time would be heated and would be hot enough to damage or destroy the drawing rod if they were surrounding the path, but sincethey are in their upper positions their heat will have substantially no effect on the drawing rod. As the rod is moved to the right, however, and the cast strand is guided through its path, it will move under detecting element 33 and cause actuation of the valves 19 so that the furnaces will be moved down around the strand to heat the strand as the casting operation continues. Any slight deviation in the curvature or general path of the strand may require a slight change in elevation of the left end of main support 5 in order to keep the strand as near as possible in the center of the furnace units.

Frequently in preparing the system for operation it is desirable to have additional guides beside the roll stands 3 and 4 in order to help direct the drawing rod upwardly to the mold. If this required the blocks 25 can be moved with their pistons by the suitable application of fluid to the ends of cylinders 28 so that the upper surface of the blocks are tangent to the path of the strand and thereby can help support the drawing rod. These blocks, however, should be lowered to the position shown as the cast strand moves past the apparatus. The abrasive effect of moving the drawing rod across the blocks 25 could have the effect of wearing them down fairly rapidly. For this reason the blocks are preferably of a refractory construction that can be inserted and removed easily from the frame formed from angles 26.

From the above it will be seen that I have described a piece of apparatus that can be used to heat or even out the temperature of a cast strand to some desired value as it is moving through a path. This apparatus is easily adjusted for slight differences in the path that would be normally followed by the strand and the heating units are readily removed from the path when casting is stopped or placed around the strand when casting is started. It is noted, additionally, that the furnace units could be located so that they surround the cast strand as it is moving through a vertical or horizontal portion of its path if it is so desired.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes I have illustrated and described the best form of embodiment of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for use with a continuous casting machine in which the cast strand moves from a substantially vertical direction to a substantially horizontal direction, the combination of a frame located substantially parallel to a portion of said path, a substantially cylindrical furnace open at both ends and provided with an axially extending slot therein, means to mount said furnace on said frame with said slot aligned with the path through which the strand moves, means to move said mounting means to shift said furnace from a first position surrounding a strand traveling through said path to a second position at one side of said path, means to close the slot in said furnace, means to mount said means to close on said frame in a location to close said slot when said furnace is in its first position surrounding a strand, a guide for said strand, and means to mount said guide on said frame to guide said strand through said furnace when the latter is in its first position.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a pivot upon which said frame is mounted, and means to shift said frame around said pivot.

3. The combination of claim 1 including means to move said means to close from a position in which it closes said slot when said furnace is in its first position to a position in which said means to close is substantially tangent to the path of said strand.

4. The combination of claim 1 including means responsive to passage of a strand through said path, and means operated by said responsive means upon passage of a strand through said path to produce movement of said furnace from its second position to its first position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,086,763 4/1963 Ruff et al 263-3 JOHN J. CAMBY, Primary Examiner. 

